Kovack Advisors Inc. Has $683,000 Holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 8,550 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after buying an additional 741 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MDT. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Medtronic during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Medtronic in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its position in Medtronic by 145.7% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 344 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP purchased a new position in Medtronic during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,119,330.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,688,110. This trade represents a 23.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MDT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.00.

Medtronic Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MDT opened at $90.67 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $86.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.90. Medtronic plc has a 52 week low of $75.96 and a 52 week high of $93.08. The firm has a market cap of $116.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.84.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.03. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.07% and a net margin of 12.83%. The firm had revenue of $8.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.33 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.11%.

About Medtronic

Medtronic plc develops, manufactures, and sells device-based medical therapies to healthcare systems, physicians, clinicians, and patients worldwide. Its Cardiovascular Portfolio segment offers implantable cardiac pacemakers, cardioverter defibrillators, and cardiac resynchronization therapy devices; cardiac ablation products; insertable cardiac monitor systems; TYRX products; and remote monitoring and patient-centered software.